


liberties

by nanasalt



Category: Anastasia - Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally
Genre: But mostly a more grown up take, F/M, Feral Anya, Feralverse, Relationship Study, character exploration, semi-au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29492376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasalt/pseuds/nanasalt
Summary: Anya leans against the glass window of Deputy Commissioner Vaganov’s office one day and comments lightly that she can't see the Yusupov Palace from here at all; he lied to her, that first time.
Relationships: Gleb Vaganov/Anya | Anastasia Romanov
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	liberties

Anya leans against the glass window of Deputy Commissioner Vaganov’s office one day and comments lightly that she can't see the Yusupov Palace from here at all; he lied to her, that first time. Gleb shrugs and says he was taking artistic liberties in his speech, too distracted by Anya in the here and now to think on it more, and she laughs but it sits with her oddly.

She does not like the idea of artistic liberties. She does not like the thought of Gleb crafting his words.

She _hates_ the idea of Deputy Commissioner Vaganov with his silky-smooth threats prepared for any girl who got caught up in this mess, planning how best to frighten her away from playing Romanov. She hates that it could have been anyone; she hates that it was her.

It’s like seeing a dog growl and realizing she forgot its teeth entirely, because its been so docile, because between them its always _Anya_ and _Gleb_ and she forgot there was a time when _Anya_ was just a name in a file to him and he was just a man in a uniform to her and it's like missing a step on the stairs and not falling but knowing how close she came to smashing her skull against the landing below.

It is true she can kiss him, can lick her way into his mouth and yank him in by the collar of his uniform and wrap herself in his affection like a shield, but that missed-step feeling reminds her of Anya- _before_ -all-this who was terrified to be brought into this office. Anya-before thought the uniform was signing her death warrant and she's thrown by this reminder and more thrown by how Gleb isn't at all.

He doesn't know she's lying to him now about the Romanov plot and he doesn’t know how terrified she was to lie to him then - or perhaps he knows and tries to forget her trembling in the new light of her kisses, when _she_ has no fangs to bare against him in reminder. He’s got his uniform for armor and he cannot imagine how frighting Russia is for someone like her or how quietly scared she is, looking out his window towards the place the Yusupov Palace isn’t visible.

Or maybe he senses it, and that’s what brings him to her side. He loves her, he says, but Anya is terrified her double life will come crashing down around her ears and her sweet, harmless officer will bare his teeth and say he lied, he took his _artistic liberties_ , and he will kill her or have her killed and it will be a very anticlimactic end to their affair.

He doesn’t, not now. He simply winds his arms around her waist and kisses her cheek and Anya looks at her reflection and does not see the Yusupov Palace in it, only a soft, hardly-duplicitous smile on her lips as her hand comes to his cheek and draws him into a true kiss, one that takes no artistic liberties at all.

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, follow my writing, edits, and other content at [vampyrekatwrites](http://vampyrekatwrites.tumblr.com/). Follow [nanasalt](http://nanasalt.tumblr.com/) for my _Anastasia_ -specific things. Feel free to PM me or send asks or prompts! I am notoriously bad at replying to comments here, but I love interaction. It's what keeps me writing.


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